Parachutes are used to slow down fast-moving objects or people, especially against the force of gravity as they fall from height. Vehicles on the ground that are moving very fast, such as dragsters or landing aircraft, also sometimes use parachutes to slow their momentum. Parachutes are important as life-saving or property-saving devices. Parachutes can, of course, also be used in recreational activities. Whatever the purpose, the failure of the parachute to operate properly usually results in catastrophic consequences, namely the death, severe injury, or destruction of whatever the parachute is supposed to be slowing.
Parachute failure can result from a number of causes. The parachute may rip. The parachute may fail to open. It may open only partially. The parachute may become tangled. The pull mechanisms for triggering the parachute may fail. There are many reasons a parachute can fail, and any one of them can be devastating.
Conventional parachutes are constructed with a canopy tethered to a load with cords or groups of cords. The canopy provides drag or lift and thereby controls the descent and movement of the parachute's load. In some cases, two or three canopies are used in one parachute, so there are several sets of cords with a canopy attached to the end of each set. However, since the parachute is preferably packable or small enough to be transported, a limited number of cords and canopies can usually be provided with this construction. The breaking of a cord can be catastrophic because the canopy may no longer be held fully open, or even partially open, to create drag against the air. Likewise, a canopy tearing or failing to open is catastrophic because the canopy provides all of the drag slowing the falling object. This is, of course, an event that is essentially impossible to fix once it has occurred, as most free-falling objects have very little time before impact, and the canopy is generally spaced apart from the falling object. An improved, safer parachute system is needed.